The Ambubachi Mela is held annually at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam. The mela is celebrated in June and this year it was held between 22nd June till 26 June. The significance of the Ambubachi Mela is to celebrate the yearly menstruation of goddess Kamakhya. It is therefore believed that Goddess Kamakhya goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time frame. and it is also believed that Goddess Kamakhya rests for 3 days and during these 3 days of rest, the temple is closed to the public. On the 4th day, the temple reopens and the devotees are allowed to enter the main temple and offer worship to the Goddess. There is no idol of the Goddess but she is worshipped in the form of a yoni like stone instead and over this flows a natural spring. It is said that a white cloth is placed on the Yoni sculpture when the temple is closed during the three days and after three days, the white cloth turns red. According to legend, this is caused by the blood discharge of the Goddess as she is said to be menstruating. There are two kinds of special of prasads or blessed foods distributed among the devotees: Angodak and Angabastra. Angodak is the red coloured holy water of the Goddess believed to be released during the three day menstruation and is a mixture of holy water and sindoor. Angabastra is the red cloth which covers the yoni sculpture during the three days of menstruation. These are actually hard to get until and unless one has good connections with the temple priests.
Heritage
Historical Places of Lucknow
I had visited Lucknow city just before the new year of 2024. The city is crowded and polluted with lots of chaos and traffic especially near the historical sites. The only decent place was the British Residency. The Imanbara was chaotic with lots of tourists and extremely noisy with some nonstop announcement of warning visitors that photography is not allowed in certain areas of the site.
Half day tour of Panjim
On my previous post, I had blogged about Dudhsagar waterfalls. After leaving that area, we decided to head over to Panjim before arriving at Vagator as there was still time. Here I just had to time to get a quick tour of Panjim and its historical churches and monuments.
Lodhi Gardens March 2020
Lodhi Gardens is a public park located on Lodhi road in Delhi and is now under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India. It contains a number of tombs which were created by the ruling Lodis in the 15th century. The park is located quite near to Khan Market. The park is popular for walkers. Here is a showcase of photos captured on the day.